Strategically connect on LinkedIn
Strategically connect with people on LinkedIn and you’ll have a high quality, well connected network.
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Building connections on LinkedIn can feel daunting. Especieally when you first join and there’s a tsuanami of connection requests.
Do you feel like this?
Ergh. Another connection request from someone I don’t know. I’ve been told to grow my network, but I don’t know who this person is.
Do I connect? Do I block? Do I ignore?
Oh God. I met that guy once. Total creep. I’ll probably see him at the next industry event too. Damn it!
He knows I’ve seen the invite. I have to accept now.
Cool! I’ve just reconnected with Dave from accounts from my first job. How cool. I wonder what he’s been up to.
So going to connect.
How on earth am I going to work out who to connect with on LinkedIn?
On one hand, I’m trying to grow my network so I should say yes to everyone right?
And on the other hand. I don’t want to be connected to all these people I don’t know.
What do I do?
My advice is to MAKE YOUR OWN RULES. Do what feels right for you.
Do exactly what you’d do in real life. If you’re a networking pro at events, approach LinkedIn the same way.
If the thought of a networking event brings you out in hives, don’t connect with everyone you know.
Hate being sold to in real life? Learn how to spot a salesman online too.
Create your own value system for connecting
Green Light
- Have I met them in real life?
- Do they know the same people as me?
- Have I met them online? (Perhaps interacted with them on another social channel)
- Are they a good fit for my profile and where I'm at in my career?
- Are they an industry peer?
- Are they a thought leader I admire? Do they share good content?
- Are they my ideal client?
- Do they work in the same city, country as me?
- Have they given me a reason to say yes?
- Can I help?
Red Flag
- We've never met
- No one in common
- There's no note or reason to connect
- I don't like them in real life
- Very few connections
- Super Glam headshot
- Their profile looks fake
- No Activity on their profile
What If I Connect with the wrong people on LinkedIn?
We’ve all done it. Connected with someone only to get spammed with a sales pitch the second we click connect. Or eye roll at the continual Me Me Me posts.
Don’t sweat it, simply remove them as a connection or block their content from your feed. Too easy.
They’ll never know.
Beck x
Want to be seen by the right people?
Ready to grow your profile? Don’t know were to start?
LinkedIn is not rocket science, with a little help you could be a superstar too.